.By Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., stepped aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday after the FBI served a search warrant for his phone as part of an ongoing insider-trading investigation tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the move, saying he and Burr had agreed it was in the Senate's best interests.
FBI officials showed up at Burr's home with the warrant on Wednesday, marking a significant escalation into the Justice Department's investigation into whether Burr broke the law with a well-timed sale of stocks before the coronavirus caused markets to plummet,
The Justice Department declined to comment. His attorney did not respond to phone and email messages, but said last month that the law is clear that any senator can participate in stock market trading based on public information "as Sen. Burr did."
Investors are dumping stocks again as fears spread that the growing coronavirus outbreak will weigh down the global economy.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, February 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that the U.S. is “very, very ready” for whatever the coronavirus threat brings, and he put his vice president in charge of overseeing the nation's response.
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress and the kingmaker of South Carolina's Democratic political orbit, on Wednesday endorsed Joe Biden's presidential campaign.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, February 26, 2020.
Bernie Sanders is facing a torrent of attacks from his Democratic rivals in a high-stakes debate that could be their final prime-time opportunity to change the direction of the 2020 nomination fight.
Self-described "far-left," 26-year-old truck driver Joshua Collins is hoping to utilize the user base to support his run for Congress.
Investors plowed money into bonds, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury to a record low. Mastercard joined a growing list of companies warning that the outbreak would hurt its finances.
Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange and cloud services provider, is optimistic the shift toward digital currency in China will only bolster the adoption and acceptance of encrypted currencies.
U.S. stocks fell in midday trading Tuesday, a day after the market's biggest drop in two years, as traders worry that the spreading coronavirus will threaten global economic growth.
